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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Plainview, NY

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

51 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Plainview, New York since 1851, 10 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 33 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
10

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
41

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
33

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Plainview

The strongest storm to pass near Plainview was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gloria in 1985, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Plainview begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 24 miles away. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 51 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Plainview has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 80% of the 809 New York cities on this site. The highest rating among the 33 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on July 12, 2006, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on September 16, 2010, killed 1 person. Of the 33, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on November 13, 2021. Plainview has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 809 New York cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1979, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Plainview has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 809 New York cities.

Compare Plainview's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Plainview

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Plainview, New York, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 224 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 938 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1159 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 838 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2821 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 75 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 467 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 176 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 138 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2713 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2440 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1011 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 228 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2823 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1112 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1515 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1230 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 303 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1910 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3161 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 154 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1548 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2130 miCategory 3 (120 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 925 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1915 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3023 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1732 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 433 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3059 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3073 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1540 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1634 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 148 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 174 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2434 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1029 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2967 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2420 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1216 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2243 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2429 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1966 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 534 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2910 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26overheadTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3031 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1936 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 347 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 286 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1660 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 2
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 2072 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Plainview: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Plainview

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s10
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s6
  • 1980s1
  • 1970s9
Strongest tornadoes near Plainview, New York
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 12, 2006F224 mi10.1 mi0 / 6
Sep 7, 1998F214 mi0.2 mi0 / 6
Sep 18, 1973F28 mi1.9 mi0 / 0
Jul 19, 1971F222 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1970F26 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 15, 1970F225 mi2 mi0 / 0
Sep 16, 2010EF115 mi4 mi1 / 1
Oct 2, 2018EF123 mi3.76 mi0 / 0
Sep 8, 2012EF124 mi4.74 mi0 / 0
Jul 25, 2010EF124 mi0.87 mi0 / 7
Jul 18, 2007EF115 mi0.67 mi0 / 0
Aug 12, 2005F110 mi0.2 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 33, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Plainview

The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Plainview since 1979, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 1, 2011. The most recent report is from June 6, 2023. August has the most reports, 22.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Plainview since 2019 →

Weather by month in Plainview

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Farmingdale Airport, NY, 5 miles southeast of Plainview at 81 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (19.9 of 38.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 51 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (21); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 88 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 31 of the 137 New York stations used on this site (23%). Hicksville, 3 miles southwest, has its own station (Mineola, NY): 45.4 inches a year, 6.9 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 83°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Kings Point, NY, 15 miles west, averaged 74°F in August and 38°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Kings Point tide gauge, 15 miles from Plainview, has risen 1.08 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1931 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 10.8 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 62 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Farmingdale Airport, NY
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan39252.7540
Feb41262.0538
Mar48333.5642
Apr58423.6648
May68513.2757
Jun77613.5765
Jul83683.1571
Aug82673.3674
Sep75603.7572
Oct64483.4563
Nov53382.9654
Dec44313.6744
Year614638.56956

Averages for 1991–2020 at Farmingdale Airport, NY (81 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Kings Point, NY, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

New York weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Plainview

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 367 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Plainview: 199 thunderstorm wind reports, 141 flash floods, 14 floods, 12 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $15.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on September 7, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 62 of 141. Of the 798 New York cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 697 have had fewer than Plainview.

  • September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Plainview — 1 killed, 2 injured.

  • July 27, 2008: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Plainview — 5 injured.

  • June 2, 2019: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Plainview — 1 injured, $6,000 damage.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Flood insurance policyholders in Plainview's ZIP code 11803 have filed 53 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $123,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1979: 10 claims (19% of all) and $24,000. 40% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 549 New York cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 290 have fewer than Plainview.

Flood insurance claims in Plainview by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Not a named storm197910$24,000

Nassau County, which includes Plainview, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on January 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Nassau County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding and lightning; Relatively High for hurricanes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $298.6 million a year, the 5th highest of 62 New York counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $183.9 million (62%), is from inland flooding.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Plainview